Drink Driving

Driving whilst under the influence of alcohol is an offence that carries harsh penalties, a criminal record and is frowned upon by many people and by employers or potential employers too. As a result, if you are facing drink driving charges, the implications of these charges in your life can be extreme.

The real issue with drinking and driving is that there is no definitive answer for how much is too much as it depends on your body size, your weight, how much food you've eaten and many other factors. However, you should be aware that the legal limits for drink driving are:

35 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath

80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood

107mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine

Even if you are not driving your vehicle whilst drunk, you can be found drunk in charge of a vehicle if you decide to sleep it off in your car. Although this is not as serious of an offence as drink driving, there is a mandatory 10 points on your licence which could result in a ban due to totting up.

What are the penalties for drink driving?

If you are stopped and breathalysed at the roadside and found to be over the legal limit, you will be taken back to the police station for another more accurate breath test, which will be executed twice. The lower of the two readings will be used and if you are still over the legal limit you will be charged and summoned to appear in court.

The penalties you will face are:

A maximum fine of £5,000

3 to 9 penalty points on your driving licence

A mandatory driving ban of a minimum of 12 months

Community Service

Electronically Tagged Curfew

Up to 6 months imprisonment

If you are a new driver you will have your licence revoked and you will be required to pass your driving test again

If you have 6 or more points on your driving licence already you will face a further ban of a minimum of 6 months due to totting up

A Criminal Record

You can see that if convicted of drink driving, your life will be changed drastically, especially if you end up in prison.

Are There Any Defences?

One defence that could be used for the offence of Drink Driving is the hip flask defence. This means that you will need to show that you were only over the prescribed limit at the point of the police procedure being carried out due to the amount of alcohol consumed after driving and prior to being arrested by the police.

In such cases forensic evidence would be used to back calculate at the point of time which you were accused of driving the exact amount of alcohol that would have been in your body to prove your innocence. Cases with this defence often get dropped even prior to a trial taking place, however it is important to seek proper legal advice about your situation.

CONTACT US NOW

If you have been accused of drink driving you should get expert legal advice as soon as possible. We can offer you advice on your specific circumstances and other options which may be available to you.

Call us now on 03330 096 275 during office hours or on 07956 352945 if you need help out of hours. If you would prefer to get in touch online please do complete our Free Enquiry Form or email us enquiries@ashmanssolicitors.com and we'll be in touch soon.

On the 7th of November 2009 I was driving my vehicle along Bradford Road. It was a dark night and street lighting was limited. I ran over a hazardous traffic island which was not visible to me. It caused my vehicle to be substantially damaged along with a huge jolt to myself wherein I suffered with pain to my neck area. Despite the local council being aware of the hazardous island, no repairs were carried out. I contacted Ashmans Solicitors who pointed out the breaches of duty by the local council. To my amazement, the council denied all knowledge of the island and denied liability. Ashmans Solicitors pursued on my behalf the local council vigorously and issued court proceedings against them. I am happy to say that they successfully argued my case and I won my case. Ashmans Solicitors were completely professional in their approach from start to finish. They kept me informed of my case throughout and I was overjoyed with the outcome and service. I would not hesitate to recommend Ashmans Solicitors.

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Ashman solicitors is a Professional law firm with solicitors in Dewsbury, solicitors in Huddersfield, solicitors in Leeds, solicitors in Sheffield, solicitors in Stratford, solicitors in London. We Specialise in fraud defence, criminal law, business crime and regulatory, Motoring law, Family Law and Personal Injury.

Ashmans Solicitors is a trading name of Ashmans Solicitors Limited. Registered in England and Wales with company no. 9103057. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. ID 614570. VAT 944718203. DX 23352 Dewsbury, SRA N°: 620496 London Branch